Advanced Review: Coyotes #1

Coyotes #1

Writer: Sean Lewis
Artist: Caitlin Yarsky
Publisher: Image Comics

A review by Samantha Pearson

Coyotes #1 is a creepy, bloody tale of “The City of Lost Girls”. A pack of rabid coyotes hunt women and children living in the city and survivors have banded together to wage war against them. Of course, not everything is as it seems. There is a level of mysticism here that seems to penetrate both sides of the war at hand. And when a new detective transfers into the local precinct, he’s met with more than one surprise.

The characters in Coyotes #1 are super cryptic and incredibly intriguing. The issue, written by Sean Lewis and drawn by Caitlin Yarsky, dives into just some of the main character’s past. After all, “Nostalgia is a fucking assassin.” If Red spends too much time looking at the past, the literal monsters chomping at her heels will snatch their opportunity to take her down.

It’s great to see such a diverse cast of characters in Coyotes #1. I’m all for a book that’s about badass women — and the cast in Coyotes is made up almost entirely of “Lost Girls”. These women have seen death, faced it themselves, and come out the other side swinging. For vengeance. For their families. And most of all, for the safety of whoever might still be on the coyotes’ radar as a potential meal.

There are definite hints that the coyotes are after more than just meat, of course. Magic is imbued in every panel of Yarsky’s art and Lewis’ script lends itself to plenty of theories right off the bat. The introduction of a new transfer detective suggests, immediately, that an “outsider” has much to learn about how things work in this city… And no one, especially not the women on the front lines, will let him throw his weight around without proof that he can handle the fight.

The main character, Red, earns her name after she decides to hunt the coyotes who killed her sister. She pieces together a family that’s nothing like the one she lost, but everything she needs in this awful fight. She also makes decisions that seem incongruous with the rest of the issue, but don’t yet seem out of character. With just one issue, Lewis and Yarsky have created a dark, barren world that holds little hope — unless Red’s actions can somehow help them triumph over the ravenous coyotes who roam the borders of the city.

Verdict
Buy it! Coyotes #1 is a thrilling, bone-chilling read that will keep you turning pages and begging for more. It’s vastly different from most other comics on the shelf today and it’s clear that whatever is in store for these characters, you don’t want to miss a single issue.

Coyotes #1 hits stores on November 8, 2017. Final order cut-off is October 16. Don’t miss out!